1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to contactless electronic information storage cards and carriers therefor in which the contactless card can be stored, carried, and/or used in a convenient manner.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
The use of integrated circuit cards containing user or account specific information for various purposes is becoming more and more common in today's modern society marked by increasingly advancing technology and the corresponding demand for greater convenience and faster transactions.
One example of an integrated circuit card is known as a subscriber identity module (SIM) card. SIM cards are most commonly used, primarily in Europe and Asia, in communication devices such as mobile telephones to enable a user to access an individual account or a particular wireless telephone network in a specific country. Each SIM card contains the configuration information for a designated network, and also contains information identifying the user, such as the user's mobile telephone number, and related account information.
SIM cards, like most integrated circuit cards, are typically made of plastic and have an integrated circuit (IC) semiconductor chip mounted or embedded therein, to provide a connection interface on the surface of the card at the location of the integrated circuit. Moreover, SIM cards are generally provided in one of two sizes, i.e., a full-sized or ISO-sized card, and a micro or plug-in sized card. The full-sized card is approximately the size of a standard credit card, while the plug-in sized card is approximately 25 mm long and 15 mm wide, and less than 1 mm thick.
To ensure correct orientation of a plug-in sized SIM card upon insertion in the mobile phone, one corner of the otherwise rectangular card is cut at an angle, so that the length of one edge of the card is reduced to about 21 mm while the width of the adjacent edge is reduced to about 12 mm. The card can only be inserted into the phone with the angled corner in the correct orientation.
When inserted into the telephone, electrical contacts formed on the integrated circuit embedded in the card become aligned with and are placed in contact with a corresponding set of contacts on the interfacing surface of the telephone, thereby establishing an electrical connection to the internal circuitry of the mobile phone. In this manner, the mobile phone is enabled to access information from the identification/memory card.
FIG. 1 shows a plug-in sized SIM card 100 having a card body 110, an integrated circuit chip 120 mounted therein on one surface thereof, and an angled corner 130 for guiding the user as to the correct orientation of the card upon insertion of the card into an appropriate electronic device. As mentioned above, any information stored in the integrated circuit can only be accessed when the SIM card is placed so that the IC 120 is in direct physical contact with the appropriate contact elements on the electronic device in which the SIM card is used.
A second type of integrated circuit card is a contactless transaction card, commonly used in public transportation systems or security/access control. Similarly to a SIM card, the integrated circuit in a contactless transaction card may store information specific to a user such as account information or user identification information. On the other hand, while a SIM card requires physical contact of the contacts of the IC with the device accessing the information stored in the IC, a contactless transaction card transmits and receives information from and to a reader and/or writer device without requiring physical contact of the card with the reader and/or writer device.
As shown in FIG. 2, a contactless transaction card 200 includes an integrated circuit having an antenna 220 extending therefrom and embedded inside the material or layers forming the card. The antenna has a relatively long total length with respect to the IC, and is typically incorporated onto the card by being looped or wound in a pattern in a plane of the card. The transfer or reading of information to or from a contactless transaction card is achieved by sending RF signals through the antenna extending from the integrated circuit. The length of the antenna corresponds to the transmission and reception range thereof, so that the longer the antenna, the greater the distance away from the reader/writer device the card can be held to successfully transfer or access information between the card and the reader/writer device.
In an example of use of a contactless transaction card in which a user desires to gain access to a secured location, the user simply brings the contactless transaction card close to a card reader within a range appropriate for the antenna, whereupon the reader is enabled to read the identification data contained in the IC via the antenna embedded in the card. If the reader determines that the user, based on the identification information obtained by the reader, is authorized to access the secured location, the reader sends a signal to control the security system to enable the user to access the secured location.
When a contactless transaction card is used in a transportation system, for example, the IC mounted in the card contains the user's account information, such as an available balance (for a declining balance type of arrangement), or billing information (for a credit type of arrangement). The manner of operation for using the card to enter or exit the transportation system or to access or update the user's account is similar to the operation for access control, in that the card is simply brought towards the card reader within the readable range of the antenna.
Contactless transaction cards provide several advantages over the standard integrated circuit (contact-type) cards, such as faster transaction times, ease of use, and less wear and tear on the cards and the data reading and writing devices.
A dual-interface card, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,168,083, combines the features of both a contact-type and contactless transaction card into one integrated circuit. As shown in FIG. 3, for example, a dual-interface card 300 includes an IC 310 which has electrical contacts for contact-type data transfer, and also includes an antenna 320 connected to the IC 310 for contactless data transfer.
Currently, contactless transaction cards and dual-interface cards are provided in the form of credit card-sized or the full-sized ISO cards, and are carried in a person's wallet, purse, briefcase, pocket, etc. A problem with storing and carrying such cards is that they may be easily misplaced, damaged, or, at a minimum, hard to find if stored with a collection of other small and/or bulky items in a user's pocket, purse, bag, etc. Also, especially if a person is also carrying a mobile telephone, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, and/or other items, it is often inconvenient for the user to have to rummage through his or her belongings to find the card when needed. It would thus be desirable to provide a contactless transaction card in a size which is easily and conveniently stored in a designated holder.